For the past few shows we took a slightly different tactic and broadcast some in-depth interviews that touched on mental health, drug abuse, depression and anxiety as experienced by three North East based comedians. The most recent episode features Hal Branson and Seymour Mace.

Listen to the embed below (or go directly to Mixcloud) to hear my ‘bleep’ button getting a workout during Seymour’s live set!

]]>https://peff.fm/2017/07/07/mental-health-and-comedy/feed/0medium_hal5-1peffsoulsbyVO: Back in the Boothhttps://peff.fm/2017/06/01/vo-back-in-the-booth/
https://peff.fm/2017/06/01/vo-back-in-the-booth/#respondThu, 01 Jun 2017 09:23:48 +0000http://peff.fm/?p=681]]>It was my birthday yesterday, and I was lucky enough to spend part of it in my favourite place… Behind a microphone!

I went to the lovely Cluny Studios, tucked away in the Ouseburn area of Newcastle. The project was recording narration for a Newcastle University video, produced and animated by Three Motion UK.

Both the Cluny Studios and Three Motion are wonderful to work with. The atmosphere has always been relaxed and friendly, and the end product very professional. You can hear me on last year’s Clearing animated video, and hopefully I can work with them again very soon.

Afterwards I took advantage of the glorious sunshine and had a lovely stroll into the city centre!

]]>https://peff.fm/2017/06/01/vo-back-in-the-booth/feed/0DBJbhY9W0AAS-hypeffsoulsbyAUDIO: Jesterval with Della Haqhttps://peff.fm/2017/05/22/audio-jesterval-with-della-haq/
https://peff.fm/2017/05/22/audio-jesterval-with-della-haq/#respondMon, 22 May 2017 15:21:13 +0000http://peff.fm/?p=696]]>Your summer of laughs starts here: Jesterval, the North East of England’s biggest comedy festival, is returning for its fifth year.

Della Haq, Festival Programmer, spills the beans about the fantastic lineup. From homegrown favourites like Hal Branson, Lee Kyle, Sammy Dobson, and Matt Reed to household names Sara Pascoe, Ed Byrne, Zoe Lyons and Gary Delaney. Over half of the tickets are under £10, so there’s only a wee charge for enough laughs to make you wee in your pants.

N.E. Thing Funny brings you news, reviews and interviews from the North East of England’s comedy scene! Broadcast live every Monday on Spark, powered by the University of Sunderland. Produced by Peff Soulsby and Kate Murphy. With original music composed and produced by Esmé Newman, Audio Witch.

]]>https://peff.fm/2017/05/22/audio-jesterval-with-della-haq/feed/0jestervalpeffsoulsbyNew show!https://peff.fm/2017/02/20/new-show/
https://peff.fm/2017/02/20/new-show/#respondMon, 20 Feb 2017 15:29:19 +0000http://peff.fm/?p=708]]>I’m back on the airwaves with a new weekly show on Spark!

N.E. Thing Funny (geddit?) is an hour-long, speech-based show all about the comedy scene in the North East of England.

Along with my co-host Kate Murphy I’ll be bringing you red hot comedy news, reviews and interviews from the North East circuit. We’ll also be chatting about comical topics and topical comedy, plus bringing you a weekly events guide.

]]>https://peff.fm/2017/02/20/new-show/feed/0nethingfunnypeffsoulsbyVoice of The Awardshttps://peff.fm/2016/10/28/voice-of-the-awards/
https://peff.fm/2016/10/28/voice-of-the-awards/#respondFri, 28 Oct 2016 12:04:11 +0000http://peff.fm/?p=645]]>I recorded VO for the Student Radio Awards 2016 this week.

For each section of the script I had to provide three reads – ranging from “punchy” and energetic (ie my best crack at imitating Peter “X Factor” Dickson) down to a more natural, conversational tone. The photo on this post was taken by Tom Glenwright, who worked as producer/engineer during the recording session at the Spark FM studios. It’s a proper action shot with my derpy VO face in all its glory!

The awards will take place at the IndigO2 in London on November 11 2016. My ticket has been purchased, I’ve bought a nice dress, and I’m super excited!

]]>https://peff.fm/2016/10/28/voice-of-the-awards/feed/0img_2207peffsoulsbyVIDEO: EVE comes to PS4https://peff.fm/2016/10/16/video-eve-comes-to-ps4/
https://peff.fm/2016/10/16/video-eve-comes-to-ps4/#respondSun, 16 Oct 2016 12:28:31 +0000http://peff.fm/?p=669]]>Eve:Valkyrie has been ported to PS4! This required some new VO recordings (as some of the original player instructions wouldn’t make sense to someone using a Playstation controller) and some audio tweaks. You can hear me doing my deadpan sexy robot thang in this video.

]]>https://peff.fm/2016/10/16/video-eve-comes-to-ps4/feed/0evevrpeffsoulsbyAUDIO: The News That Washttps://peff.fm/2016/05/10/audio-the-news-that-was/
https://peff.fm/2016/05/10/audio-the-news-that-was/#respondTue, 10 May 2016 13:51:18 +0000http://peff.fm/?p=614]]>What would the news sound like 100… 150… 200 years ago?

That’s the concept behind The News That Was: a news bulletin reporting local historical events, but reported in a contemporary style.

As well as doing the voiceover this project gets me to stretch my research muscles a bit, as well as scriptwriting with a quick turnaround. (I recorded this in one take in the Spark Sunderland news booth in between bulletins!)

Can you guess what year I’m talking about? When 72m was the longest single span bridge in the world, there were only 2 MPs in the whole of County Durham, and Pitt the Younger was ruling a Tory-Whig coalition government.

]]>https://peff.fm/2016/05/10/audio-the-news-that-was/feed/0Wearmouth_Bridge_001peffsoulsbyMagic with Maskshttps://peff.fm/2016/04/29/magic-with-masks/
https://peff.fm/2016/04/29/magic-with-masks/#respondFri, 29 Apr 2016 11:09:31 +0000http://peff.fm/?p=526]]>One of the things I love about my improv classes is the way it makes me more tuned into my own physicality. I have problems with motor control that means my balance isn’t great, I’m not very co-ordinated, and I have poor spatial awareness. I was usually picked last for sports teams at school. Big surprise, huh?

But for some reason, improv releases me to be physical and expressive and… I’ve discovered I’m actually quite good at physical comedy. But I still find it difficult to throw myself into a character and let go, so that’s something I need to work on.

Enter… Mask work! We had a very exciting session featuring papier mâché masks, hand made by our teacher Ian McLaughlin. One by one each group member went up to the array of masks, selected one, put it on (with their back to the rest of us at all times), then used a mirror to find a facial expression that felt “right.” This was accompanied by a repeated sound or noise.

Then we turned around to face the rest of the group to introduce them to “the new monster.” So please allow me to introduce… Nam-Nam!

She isn’t a nasty monster, but she’s very hungry. If you give her food she will be your friend. She’s a bit dim, naive, easily led. If she meets someone new she wants to know if they have any food. She’s a bit hesitant to approach people but doesn’t really understand boundaries and personal space.

One of the things that struck me about using the mask was the way my movements changed to match the character. Maybe it’s because I couldn’t convey anything with my facial expressions or words. Instead, it was all about my posture, movements, gait. And that meant I couldn’t just coast by with exaggerated facial expressions or witty wordplay saying rude words in order to get a laugh.

It was quite liberating, in a way, and allowed me to explore an aspect of performance that I’ve tended to neglect. I’m looking forward to developing this in future workshops!

(Featured image by Jill Harper Hill, all rights reserved.)

]]>https://peff.fm/2016/04/29/magic-with-masks/feed/013096240_10154899759989782_6452992391639637606_npeffsoulsbyIMG_1768RADIO: Dawn on a Funeral Dayhttps://peff.fm/2016/04/22/radio-dawn-on-a-funeral-day/
https://peff.fm/2016/04/22/radio-dawn-on-a-funeral-day/#respondFri, 22 Apr 2016 11:41:23 +0000http://peff.fm/?p=558]]>My work experience with Global has introduced me to many new experiences. Including my first ever “media event” funeral.

The TV agony aunt Denise Robertson passed away on 31 March this year. As a Sunderland native her death was extremely significant to the people here, and there was no doubt that her funeral at Sunderland Minster would be well-attended by people wishing to pay their respects.

I’ve attended funerals before, yes, but never a celebrity’s and never as a member of the press. This was an entirely new experience. I was very conscious that this was a sensitive time, that people were grieving, and I took great pains to avoid being disrespectful. At the same time my job was to report on the funeral, to talk to people in mourning, and be part of a crowd of media professionals some of whom were… shall we say…desensitized to events like these.

We arrived at the Minster several hours before the funeral began. We were given our Accredited Media badges and briefed on how the day would go. We were told where we could and could not go, were told in no uncertain terms to not take any photos of Denise’s This Morning colleagues while they were working (the show was broadcast from Sunderland Minster as a one-off tribute), and that we would not be allowed inside the minster during the service. According to her family’s wishes the service itself was entirely private with no recording allowed.

So while it was a very sombre event, it was also a huge learning experience for me. I’d never been in a “media pen” before, I’d never joined a queue of people waiting to interview the same person, I’d never had to elbow my way to the front of a fence and try and video someone making a statement while other people’s microphones and camera lenses were waving into my shot.

In the end some of the video I shot made it onto the Heart North East twitter account.

I recorded some other video, and collected some vox pops from members of the public who had gathered to pay their respects. This was difficult – some of the people I spoke to were understandably very upset – but I did hear some wonderful stories from people whose lives had been touched by Denise. Some of the audio I recorded was used in the Heart Nightly News report put together by Martin Lindsay, including the sounds of the Minster’s bells tolling as Denise’s coffin was carried up the path.

Despite the tragedy of the situation it was an incredible opportunity to learn about live reporting and journalism, with some practical lessons that will serve me well in future.

]]>https://peff.fm/2016/04/22/radio-dawn-on-a-funeral-day/feed/0IMG_1714peffsoulsbyIMG_1715AUDIO: Heart Radio Demohttps://peff.fm/2016/04/17/audio-heart-radio-demo/
https://peff.fm/2016/04/17/audio-heart-radio-demo/#respondSun, 17 Apr 2016 07:20:00 +0000http://peff.fm/?p=450]]>I’ve been very lucky this week to receive some newsreader coaching from the fabulous Anna Harding, Regional News Editor for Global Radio – Yorkshire and North East.

She gave me some incredibly valuable feedback on my voiceover and some tips on how to keep the energy up!

My natural style is quite neutral, relaxed and formal. Which is probably why I get so many comments about having a ‘BBC voice’ or a ‘GPS voice’… or that I sound like a computer!

Anna explained that for a station like Heart I needed to be more expressive, and that raising my energy levels would increase the warmth in the sound of my voice. We talked a bit about the performative quality of newsreading and how to vary your intonation to guide the listener through a bulletin.

After the coaching session I recorded the bulletin below, using a backing bed, audio clips and script from the 12 noon bulletin on Thursday 14 April 2016. (Just to be completely clear, this bulletin was not broadcast and is for demonstration purposes only).

I can certainly hear the difference in my delivery – compare that to my previous Smooth Radio demo bulletin. I worked hard to raise the energy levels, but I could definitely push it even further, so that’s something I’ll continue to work on. My intonation is less monotonous but could definitely be varied even more. Anna also mentioned that I over-enunciated some words and that I should relax more to sound more conversational.

As well as areas to work on Anna also gave me some wonderful feedback about the quality of my natural voice, saying that I was very easy to listen to with a really pleasant tone. I left the session feeling enthusiastic and excited! Overall it was an incredible experience, and I was so grateful to Anna for taking the time to work with me.